Intermittent film feed



'Nov. 1,1949.

C. W. DYER INTERMITTENT FILM FEED Filed July 26, 1946 INVENTOR. 'M,

Patented Nov. 1, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE INTERMITTENT FILM FEED Charles W. Dyer, Stratton, Maine Application July 26, 1946, Serial No. 686,521

' 6 Claims. 1

My present invention relates to an improved intermittent film feed of the type adapted to feed perforated film strips such as that employed in motion pictures and which is especially designed to feed such film without damage to the film and the sections between the perforations.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated one complete example of the physical embodiment of my invention according to the best mode I have thus far devised but it will be understood that various changes and alterations may be made in the exemplified structure within the scope of the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the structure of my invention showing the intermittent feed assembly approaching feeding position.

Figure 2 is a side elevational view thereof.

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the feed assembly in feeding position.

Figure 4 is a side elevational view thereof; and

Figure 5 is a detail sectional view at line 5-5 of Figure 3.

Referring now to the drawings in detail wherein like characters indicate like parts I have illustrated the intermittent feed of my invention as embodying a shaft 2 which is rotated from the power gear 4 to rotate the driving disk 6.

This disk is formed with a shallow peripheral depression 8 having bottom surfaces I0 and II that are preferably convexed and converge downwardly to their meeting point at the center line 9 of the depression. These surfaces merge, at the opposite ends of the depression, into the flat upper surface of disk 6. Adjoining the inner edge of this depression 8 I employ a low abutment or cam I2 arcuate in plan and having walls converging upwardly to the apex l4, said walls being preferably concaved.

The intermittently driven member comprises the polygonal element I6 secured to the shaft I8 and having peripheral faces 26. Element I6 is here shown as octagonal, but is not necessarily so. The faces 20 which are tangential to the center of the driven member meet at points 22 and a circular series of pins 24 is radially disposed about the center of the member, each pin being located along the line from the center of the member I6 to the center of the face.

A single step movement of the parts will be considered. For the greatest part of a single rotation of disk 6, one of the faces 28 of element I6 will be in sliding contact with the smooth top surface of the disk. Therefore, element I6 will not be given any movement during this part of a rotation of disk 6. Further, not only will element I6 be. stationary at this time, but it will in fact be held against any movement, because of the sliding fit of said face 26 against the disk surface. In this way, movement of the element l6 by momentum is eliminated.

Continuing, cam I2 now engages a pin 24 (Figs. 1 and 2) and therefore begins to move element I6. When this occurs, a corner or point 22 begins to move into depression 8 and the parts move into the position of Figs. 3 and 4.

As the cam continues to move element I6, the

cam clears the pin which it has engaged. At the same time, the trailing surface of depression 8 (here shown as surface I0) engages the corner 22,

P which is still in the depression 8. Thus, cam I2 is no longer moving element I6, the surface I0 now taking over the task of moving element I6 through the'rest of its step movement.

The surface I0 remains in engagement with corner 22, and therefore moves the element I6 through the rest of its step movement, until corner 22 is elevated into a plane common with the plane of the disk surface, at which time the face next following the corner will also move into said plane. The step movement is now completed, and there is again a sliding fit of element I6 against disk 6. Succeeding operations as described above result in the intermittent feed of the film.

The film is not shown, nor have I illustrated the conventional sprocket wheel that engages the film. This wheel, however would be carried by the shaft I8 for rotation therewith.

The preferred concavity of the faces of cam I2, and convexity of the surfaces Ill and II, is for the purpose of starting the feed motion slowly, speeding it up at the middle, and slowing it down toward the end of the feed.

Some advantages of the mechanism, and its action, are the fact that it is simple and is not hard on the feed holes of the films (as is the case, for example, in claw-type feeds, which are most generally used). Additionally, the mechanism provides for a full control of the driven element I6 at all times, momentum never being permitted to assert itself, since the disk 6 both produces controlled motion of the element l6 and serves as a brake against further movement. The speed, additionally is controllably varied through a single step movement of element I6.

Having thus fully described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An intermittent film feed comprising a driven disk formed with a peripheral depression, an abutment on the disk adjacent the depression,

a driven element polygonally shaped to define corner portions, and angularly related to the disk, and a circular series of pins on the element in the path of movement of the abutment, said abutment adapted to engage a pin, and the depression surface adapted to engage a corner portion of the element in succession, to impart movement to said driven element.

2. An intermittent film feed comprising a driven disk formed with an arcuate depression having downwardly converging walls, an abutment on the disk adjacent the depression formed with upwardly converging walls, a driven. element polygonally shaped to define corner portions, and a circular series of pins disposed radially of the center of the element and in the path of movement of the abutment, said abutment adapted to engage a pin and a wall of the depression adapted to engage a corner portion of the element in succession, to impart movement to said driven element.

3. An intermittent film feed comprising a driven disk formed with a peripheral depression, an abutment on the disk adjacent the depression, said abutment having concaved walls, a driven element polygonally shaped to define corner portions and angularly related to the disk, a circular series of pins on the element in the path of movement of the abutment, said abutment adapted to engage a pin, and the depression surface adapted to engage a corner portion of the element in succession, to impart movement to said driven element.

4. An intermittent film feed comprising a driven disk formed with a peripheral depression having convexed and downwardly converging bottom surfaces, an abutment on the disk adjacent the depression formed with concaved and upwardly converging walls, a driven element polygonally shaped to define corner portions, and a circular series of pins disposed radially of the center of the element and in the path of movement of the abutment, said abutment adapted to engage a pin and the depression surface adapted to engage a corner portion of the driven element in succession, to impart movement to said driven element.

5. An intermittent film feed comprising a driven disk formed with a peripheral depression, an abutment on the disk adjacent the depression, a driven element polygonally shaped to define corner portions and angularly related to the disk, and means carried by the element in the path of movement of the abutment, said abutment adapted to engage said means, and the depression surface adapted to engage a corner portion of the element in succession to impart movement to said element.

6. An intermittent film feed comprising a driven disk formed with a peripheral depression, an abutment on the disk adjacent the depression, a driven element polygonally shaped to define corner portions and angularly related to the disk, and means carried by the element in the path of movement of the abutment, said abutment adapted to engage said means, and the depression surface adapted to engage a corner portion of the element in succession to impart movement to said element, said disk having a smooth surface but for the depression and abutment, said surface adapted to engage a peripheral face of the driven element in sliding contact when the abutment and depression arev disengaged from the driven element.

CHARLES W. DYER.

REFERENCES CITED The followingreferences are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 596,884 Jamieson Jan. 4, 1898 602,629 Sager Apr. 19, 1898 1,194,113 Wright Aug. 8, 1916 

